Smooth Criminal
by kiidnothing
Summary: While Tori is house sitting she finds romance in a strange situation as well as an unlikely person -AU-
1. Chapter 1

**So I just started this kinda wanna see where I can go with this. Let me know what you all think. c:**

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Tori could feel a headache coming on. She was lightly pushing her friend towards the front door. She stole a glance at her watch. The flight was leaving in about an hour, and here she was still suffering through her friend's endless reminders.

"So all my contact numbers are on the fridge."

"Cat…" said Tori, but it was no use. The short redhead's mouth just kept going. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that Tori had heard all of it already. She knew what her duties were. Cat had told her enough times. Plus, she had it all in writing, courtesy of Cat.

"There's money on my dresser for any expenses."

"Cat…" tried the brunette again. This time she was a little more firm. Still, it was no use.

"I've written down my itinerary-"

"Cat!" Once the brunette was sure she had her friend's attention, she smiled and said, "I got it. We've been through all this already. You need to stop worrying and go. You're going to miss your flight."

Cat took a breath. "You're right, Tori. I'm just nervous. I've never been away from Robbie for more than a day." The short brunette turned her attention to Robbie, her golden retriever. She got on her knees, and gave her dog a big hug.

"Oh, I am going to miss you so much, Robbie-poo." She ruffled his ears. "Be a good boy, okay? Tori's in charge. Don't give her a hard time." The dog only barked in response. Cat hugged him one last time and got up. Both girls heard a honking.

"Cat, if you don't go, the cab's going to leave without you." Tori had offered to drive her friend to the airport, but she had refused. She said something about not wanting Robbie to be alone on the day that she was leaving.

"His ass is so fired if he does that," Cat replied. She grabbed her best friend for a hug. "Thanks again see you in a month!"

Tori, along with Robbie, watched from the doorway as the cab disappeared in the distant. Robbie started to whine. It was as if he knew his mommy wasn't going to be back anytime soon. When it was completely gone, she looked down at the dog. "So…what do you want to do?" Robbie looked at her with a bored expression, then went to go lay down in his favorite corner. Tori just stared at him. "Well, it was nice hanging out with you too." The brunette shut the door and made her way to the room she'd be sleeping in for the next month. She figured she'd might as well get settled in.

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Later that night Tori was awoken by a noise. She laid very still and listened again. Silence. The brunette was about to go back to sleep when she heard the noise again. The first noise sounded more like a thud. This second one was a voice. She couldn't tell what was said but she knew it was a voice. Instinctively, she reached towards her night stand for her phone. It wasn't there. She panicked for a second as she moved her hand around the nightstand. Tori cursed under her breath when she remembered that she had left it in the kitchen earlier. She was in the process of verbally abusing Cat in her mind for not having a phone in the guestroom when she heard the creak of the door being open. Her panic returned instantly.

Quietly, Tori got out of bed. She needed to get to a phone. The closest one she could think of was in Cat's room. With the gentlest of steps, she walked across the room towards the door. She said a million 'thank you's' in her head when she got the door open without it creaking. She tiptoed into Cat's room and grabbed the phone. She turned it on and almost dropped it when she heard the sound of a man's voice coming through. She turned off the phone quickly. What kind of intruder uses the phone? Frantically, her mind was trying to come up with solutions. Should she try to take on the intruder? Should she try to leave? Tori knew if she tried to make a run for it, she'd have to find a way to take Robbie with her. Cat would kill her if she left the dog behind. How was she going to be able to escape with a dog in tow? It wasn't like he was small. Then, a thought hit her.

She could use Robbie on the intruder. Granted, the dog wasn't capable of even hurting a fly, but the intruder then know that. With her mind made up, she made her way downstairs. Tori momentarily froze on the stairs when she saw that the kitchen light was on. He turned on the light? I would get a stupid shook her thoughts and continued to make her way towards the living room.

She found Robbie sleeping in his favorite spot. The intruder wasn't being the quietest and Robbie was just sleeping through it. Worthless dog.

"Robbie!" whispered Tori. The dog jerked awake. He looked at her briefly before closing his eyes again. "Wake up! There's someone in the house." Robbie just laid there. Tori closed her eyes and counted to ten.

"Come on," she whispered. Robbie whined but followed her. They made their way to the doorway of the kitchen. The intruder was facing them but was crouched down going through a duffel bag. Tori mentally prepared her voice to be fierce and foreboding. Unfortunately, her voice didn't get that memo.

"Don't move!" came Tori's cracked voice. "I've got a dog here that won't hesitate to have you for his midnight snack." The intruder looked up at her then Robbie. Tori watched as an evil smile formed on a face that was way too pale. She watched as the owner of that evil smile slowly got up and started coming closer to her.

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**So I'll try to update in a timely matter along with my other story but I've been a bit of a flake but this time I'll try to keep my word.**


	2. Chapter 2

**OK I'm back with a new update. Hope you all enjoy and be sure to leave some reviews.**

**ENJOY c:**

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Tori felt her heat beating wildly as the intruder slowly came towards her. She thoughts came to mind. She was going to die because of a stupid dog. Secondly, not only would her death be by the hands of the world's least smartest criminal, it'll be by the hands of a _girl_. A girl smiling the smuggest of smug smiles. Tori would've liked to slap the smug away, but being scared was taking priority.

Tori's would be killer stopped a mere inches from her. If possible, the girl's smile became even more smug. The intruder just stood there. _What is she waiting for? Oh great, she probably likes to torture her victims first._

"I-I mean it," stuttered Tori. "This dog will do some serious damage."

The intruder arched her eyebrow before bending down. "Hey Robbie," she said as she ruffled the dog's ear. "How you been boy?" The dog barked in response. "That's good to hear. What's new with you?" Again, the dog barked.

Tori was dumbfounded. She tried using Robbie as a weapon. Not only did he fail, but he was talking with the intruder. No. The intruder was talking with Robbie. _Stupid and crazy. And a torturer. I'm never house sitting again!_"

The intruder rose back up. "Sorry, lady, but that dog is only good for eating and sleeping." She held out a hand. "I'm Jade and you are?"

Tori only stared in response. Quickly she scanned the kitchen for any nearby weapons. There was nothing. Getting desperate, Tori quickly grabbed one of the chairs. She raised it, almost dropping it, and yelled, "stay back!"

The woman took a few steps back. "Whoa! Careful now. I don't want you to hurt yourself." Jade saw that the girl in front of her had no intention of putting the chair down. She sighed. "Look, I'm a friend of Cat's. We met many years ago. She said if I was ever in town to drop on by. So every now and then I take her up on it. Just wake her up, and she'll tell you herself."

"How'd you get in?" questioned Tori, still holding onto the chair.

"The spare key under her deck," answered Jade. Tori was still skeptical and Jade noticed it. "Listen, I'm tired and I want to sleep. Can you please just go wake up Cat. You can leave Robbie here to make sure I don't do anything wrong."

Tori didn't miss that teasing tone with the last comment. "She's not here. She's out of town, and I'm house sitting. She didn't mention anything about you, or anyone, stopping by."

"That's cause I usually don't give notice. I just show up when I'm passing through."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

Jade gave the brunette a look of disbelief. "One-I know Cat. Two-I know Robbie, and he obviously knows me. Three-I know about the hidden key. Four…I can't think of anything else. Call her. She'll confirm everything."

Tori eyed her phone near the fridge. She looked back at Jade. "Don't move."

"Can I at least sit down?" asked Jade. "I'm dead on my feet here."

Tori eyed her cautiously. "Okay, but _slowly_ make your way towards the table." She watched as Jade did so. After she was seated, Tori slowly made her way towards the fridge. She never took her eyes off Jade. When she reached her phone, she quickly dialed Cat's number.

Jade watched as the brunette refused to stop looking at her. She was starting to get annoyed. She couldn't blame the girl for being cautious, but it was more than obvious that she knew Cat. She was being treated like she was a criminal or something.

Across the ocean, a slumbering redhead was awoken by the sound of her phone ringing. Groaning, she checked the ID. "Tori? Why are you calling so late?"

"Late? Isn't it daytime over there?"

"Hell yeah it is," came Cat's groggy answer. "I had to close all the blinds so I could sleep. I'm still on California time. Anyway, why are you calling?" Suddenly, a feeling of panic washed over the brunette. "Oh no. Is Robbie okay?" shrieked Cat.

Jade let out a little chuckle when she heard Cat's question. The woman did love her dog. Tori simply rolled her eyes both at Cat's outburst and at Jade's reaction.

"He's fine," answered Tori.

"Thanks god!" exclaimed Cat. "Well, then, why are you calling me?"

Tori bore a look of irritation. It was times like these that the brunette wondered why she was friends with Cat. "There's someone here. I thought she was an intruder, but she's claiming that she's a friend. She says that stops by every so often. I just wanted to make sure I was being told the truth."

"Is she tall, thin, blonde, and so damn sexy that's it's just not fair?"

"Uh…" Tori began answering.

"Yeah, that's Jade," replied Cat. "I swear, it's like the gods gave all the hotness gene to her. It's so unfair! Don't worry. She's harmless."

"The person here has dark hair," Tori said.

Cat shot up in bed. "What! Did you say she's a brunette?"

"Yes."

"What!" shrieked Cat again. "Put her on the phone."

Tori stared at her phone confused. Jade saw this. "Everything okay?"

Tori shook her head. "Yeah. She wants to talk to you." Tori walked towards Jade and handed her the phone.

"Thanks," replied Jade. "You mind putting the chair down now? It's kind of intimidating." Jade wasn't really worried about the brunette hurting her with it. She was more worried that the lanky girl would hurt herself with it. Tori absently nodded. She set the chair down and sat in it

Jade smiled and went to speak on the phone. "Hey! How's it going?"

"Don't you 'how's it going' me," Cat replied. "You go and dye your hair and you don't tell me? What's up with that?"

Jade laughed. "Sorry. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing. I got tired of the blonde."

"But the blonde was so gorgeous," whined Cat. "I can't believe you ruined it like that."

"Hey! I happen to think it looks great." Jade turned towards Tori. "Don't you think so?" she only nodded. "She's nodding yes. I can send you a pic if you'd like."

"No!," exclaimed Cat. "I'll have to see it soon enough. Let me keep my memories of your blondeness for as long as I can."

"Okay," Jade responded, smiling. "Well, hey, I'll call you tomorrow. I'm kind of tired." After a couple more words, Jade hung up the phone. She looked at Tori. "I assume you believe me now?" No response. "You-hoo?" Still no response. Jade went to shake her, which seem to do the trick.

"Hmmm?" said Tori.

"I said, I assume you believe me now?" Tori nodded. Jade eyed the brunette. She looked as if she was going to go in shock or something. "Are you okay?"

Tori shook her head. "No. I'm slightly overwhelmed. This is just surreal. I really thought I was going to die for a second there."

Jade would've laughed if Tori wasn't so serious looking. "Well…I don't know what to say to that. Maybe you should just sleep it off. Things will look better in the morning."

Tori nodded in agreement. "You're right. Good night." Tori got up and headed back to bed without another word.

Jade watched her go. She decided to wait til the morning to form a first impression. She went and grabbed her bag. She gave Robbie one last ruffle. "Night boy. Thanks for not having me for your midnight snack, not that I was worried."

Making her way up the stairs, Jade realized that she still didn't know the brunette's name. Figuring she'll just find out tomorrow, Jade pushed the thought aside. Reaching her chosen room, the tired brunette went to open the door. While doing so, she wondered if her newly acquired housemate was truly okay. Granted thinking there was a robber in your house wasn't exactly comforting, but it wasn't like the girl was in any real danger. Jade's thoughts were interrupted with the sound of someone screaming.

There, wearing nothing but her underwear, stood Tori.

"What the heck are you doing here!" cried Tori, trying to cover herself.

Jade just stood there staring at the brunette. She wasn't looking at Tori per say. The sight just caught her off guard, and well, it wasn't exactly a bad sight.

"Hey!" yelled Tori. "Stop staring at me and get out." This was just her luck. First, she was going to die from an intruder. Now, she's going to die from embarrassment. Her night just kept getting better and better.

Jade shook herself and turned around. She didn't leave though. "I'm sorry. This is the room I usually sleep in. I figured you'd be in Cat's room."

"Why would I be in Cat's room?" asked Tori. "It's _Cat's_ room."

"I just…I thought…." so many things were going though Jade's mind that she was having a hard time forming a complete sentence. Figuring Tori was at least decent now, Jade turned around to offer a proper apology. "Listen, I'm really sor-oh shit."

Tori was still standing there in just her underwear. "Why'd you turn back around?" demanded Tori, half freaking out. "And why are you still looking at me?"

Without further thought, Jade quickly left the room and made her way towards another guest room. She dropped her bag and crawled into bed wishing for sleep. She didn't even bother to change out of her clothes.

Tori just stared at the empty doorway. Soon, she too crawled in bed. "This is a dream," she said to herself. She willed herself to fall asleep quickly. More than anything, she just wanted morning to come around.

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**Yea Jade is blonde actually it was accident but i didn't notice till a little while later so I worked with it. I think I did a good job but anyways let me know what you all think.**


	3. Chapter 3

Jade was just setting the table when she heard some noise from above.

"Sleeping beauty's awake," she said to Robbie. "Let's hope I make a better impression this time."

Tori laid on the bed cursing herself. She was awoken by the smell of food. When she got out of bed to follow the scent, she tripped over the pile of clothes she left on the floor. Grunting, she pushed herself up and made her way into the kitchen. When she walked in, Jad was pouring some coffee into two mugs.

Jade looked up when felt another presence in the room. Instantly, a brief memory of catching the girl in front of her in nothing but her underwear came to mind. Jade shook her head. It was bad enough she had dreamed about it. She _wasn't_ going to consciously think about it. She put the coffee pot away and walked forward.

"Hi, I'm Jade West," greeted the brunette, extending her hand.

Automatically, Tori shook the hand. She gave Jade a weird look. "You've already told me that."

It took Jade a few seconds to respond to the girl. The feel of her hand caused Jade to temporarily forget everything else. It was firm handshake, but it did not take away from softness and gentleness of the girl's hand. She offered a sheepish smile. "I know. I just never got your name in return."

Now it was Tori's turn to smile sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm Tori Vega"

Jade repeated the name in her head. She realized that she loved the name. Realizing that she still held Tori's hand, Jade reluctantly let go. "It's nice to meet you, Tori."

Tori smiled. "Likewise." The brunette looked around the room, noticed the food on the table, and her smile slowly faded.

Picking up on that disappearing smile, Jade asked, "What's wrong?"

"You made breakfast," Tori said disappointingly.

"Yeah," replied Jade, a little nervous. "I know it's not much, but Cat didn't have much for me to go on. Plus, I can't really cook, but eggs and bacon are simple enough. I would've made pancakes, but I could only find the mix. I only specialize in the frozen kind."

Tori shook her head. "It's not that I don't appreciate it. I do. I guess I was just kind of hoping last night was just one horrible nightmare. You standing here and making breakfast kind of throws that wish out of the window."

"Nightmare?!" Jade had a panicked look upon her. She started touching her face. "I'm not that horrible looking, am I? I know that I wasn't exactly at my best last night and my hair takes a little getting used to, but-"

"No, no, no," assured Tori. "I didn't mean it like that. You looked fine last night. You look great now!"

"No wonder you wanted to hit me with a chair last night," continued Jade. " I must've looked absolutely horrible. I would've thought I was a burglar too. I mean, I was filthy from having to crawl under Cat's deck-"

"Jade, really you looked great last night. I was just overreacting." Tori felt awful. She hadn't meant to offend Jade. She was in the middle of trying to figure out how to assure Jade when she noticed something in her eyes. It was a sparkle of playfulness. "You're messing with me, aren't you?"

Jade smiled and nodded. "Couldn't help myself. You're not mad are you?"

Tori rolled her eyes. "I should be, but you made breakfast."

Jade went and pulled out a chair for the brunette. "Yes, I did. Have a seat." After Tori took hers, Jade joined her. "I figured it was the least I could do for last night. Plus, I figured it'd be a great way for us to start over."

"Starting over sounds great," Tori said after she sipped her coffee.

The two ate in a comfortable silence for the next few minutes. Tori noticed Robbie sniffing at the door, signaling he needed to be let out. She got up and let him out. When she went back to join Jade, there was small smile on her face.

Tori noticed it. "Why are you smiling?"

"I can't believe you tried to use Robbie to attack me. He's _Robbie!_"

"Well, I wasn't exactly counting on you knowing how lazy and worthless he is."

"Careful. Cat will have your head if she hears you talking about her baby like that."

Tori chuckled. She took another bite of her eggs. "This is great, by the way. Thanks."

Jade merely waved off the gratitude with her fork in hand. "It's not it's gourmet or anything."

"Still, it was very nice of you to do so. Especially after I threatened your life and all."

"True. Robbie didn't scare me, but man that chair-"

"Oh hush," Tori interrupted, feeling her cheeks get a little red.

Jade only smiled, taking in the sight of Tori. Even embarrassed, the girl looked wonderful. "Okay, I'm done with the teasing….for now."

"I actually thought you were a guy at first." Tori noticed Jade arching an eyebrow. "Well, wouldn't your first instinct be to think it was a guy as well?" Jade nodded. She had a point. "Plus, when I picked up the phone to call the police, I heard a guy's voice. So…."

"You must've have picked it up when I was checking my messages," explained Jade.

_That makes sense_. "I also thought you were one of the world's stupidest criminals.

Jade playfully grabbed at her heart. "And the insults just keep coming."

"I thought you were using the phone," defended Tori. "Who uses the phone when they are breaking in? Also, you had the kitchen light on."

"It's okay," said Jade. "That's all behind us now. I'm sorry for walking in on you last night. I honestly do usually sleep in that room."

Tori felt her cheeks redden again. "How about we put that behind us as well?"

"Deal." Jade was about to say something else, when she heard a scratching at the door. "I think Robbie's ready to come back in." She got up and opened the door to let the dog back in. However, he just sat in the doorway.

"Why is he just sitting there?" questioned Tori.

"He probably wants to go for a walk. He'll sit there until he gets one." Jade went to grab his leash, causing Tori to stand up.

"I can do it," offered the brunette. "I technically have to anyway."

Jade looked at Tori skeptically. "Have you ever walked him before?"

"No, but how hard can it be?"

_Famous last words. "_Okay." Jade handed the leash over. "Have fun."

"Why are you smirking?"

"Am I?" Jade asked coyly. She just shrugged her shoulders. "I like to smirk. You two run along now."

Tori hooked the leash to Robbie's collar. She didn't trust Jade's answer. She definitely didn't trust that smirk.

"We'll see you in a bit."

Still smirking, Jade said, "Yes, you will."

Tori arched an eyebrow. She was missing something, but she figured it couldn't be anything too bad. Surely, Jade would tell her if she knew something. Tori tried to convince herself of that fact, but that damn smirk made it a little difficult to believe. _Stupid, annoying smirk._ Tori had to admit though. It was a nice smirk. Very nice.


End file.
